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Greetings dear reader, from sunny Connecticut. Today is September, which marks nearly the end of summer. That reminds me, I should buy a snow shovel. In our last edition of the BOTL Farm blog periodical, we mentioned that BOTL Farm had purchased a farm. This was not entirely super accurate, as we were actually deeply in the process of purchasing the farm. Inspectors, negotiations, loan officers, and box packing ensued. Some of us couldn’t imagine the deal ever actually going through, but in spite all odds, the 40 acre plot of poison ivy was legally transferred to us.

Completion of house closing meant it was time to move in. For those who weren’t aware, as the husband and wife team of BOTL Farm, we have been living separated. Not because we’re not getting along, but because we’ve just never gotten around to moving in together. Also because having time apart keeps the peace. If you don’t believe that, just think about how relaxed you were the last time your spouse left town for a week. Remember that bender of The Walking Dead and Doritios? Where you had a competition with your cat to see who could sleep more? That’s right, imagine that every third week. Anyway, we decided that had to come together to pool our resources, combine our bank accounts, and bring pasture raised rabbits to the masses.

The house is a tasteful size by modern American standards. At merely 3,500 square feet plus a basement, an out building, and a two car garage, the farmers are able to play baseball during a game of hide-and-go-seek without ever being on the same floor as each other. The house was originally built around 1820, with a significant expansion added around 1860. The kitchen is held up by a carefully stacked pile of rocks, the floors are all correctly sloped in a way that makes office chairs drift pleasantly towards the nearest exterior wall, and the house has between two and eight bedrooms depending on your legal definition of the word “closet.”

The Dear Wife (DW) moved in first, since she had the most flexible living situation. She had been living with thirteen hippies in a commune in downtown New Haven. Upon leaving the commune, she was shocked to find houses that didn’t have bars on the windows, and towns that didn’t have bars on each corner. She was able to move all of her possessions using just a backpack, a bicycle, and an SUV. The SUV was borrowed.

The Dear Husband (DH) moved in second, since he owned more possessions than the wife’s entire commune combined. While planning his move, DH was shocked to find that the largest U-Haul truck available was 26 feet in length. He briefly contemplated purchasing an 18 wheeler and getting a CDL, but decided to just have a go with that dinky U-Haul and a caravan of as many cars as he could lure in with kegs and pork. This move was significantly more involved. By the end of the packing day, the U-Haul contained 3 coffee tables, an oxyacetylene welding cart, 62 folding chairs, and a light weight climbing wall.

Through the grace and luck of family, strong backs, and consistent leg day observance, the U-Haul and backpack were both successfully unloaded, and the farm house has become a home. The decorative steer horns are hung over one of the eight fire places, and the kegerator is plugged in and running at a balmy 63 degrees F. The first pizzas have been served atop the stainless steel kitchen island, several of the plumbing traps have been updated to modern code, and the wall hangings are being rapidly assigned to walls throughout the house.

So begins BOTL Farms next adventure. As we seek fence quotes a few orders of magnitude less than the market provides, and prepare for our first arrival of piglets, we look forward to this opportunity of sustainable farming and making the Earth a better place.